How We Live Now
by Comic Kazii
Summary: Two young survivors are going it alone in an abandoned city when they stumble across other survivors! Will these new people be friendly or will they make it even more difficult to escape the military's fire bombs? Rated M for blood, gore, and mild language. Might be some suggestive themes later on. OCs are currently being accepted.
1. Chapter 1

**Yo what's up! This is my Left for Dead series and I am really excited to finally get it onto paper! (Well, not paper, but you know what I mean.) OCs are going to be accepted but don't give them meta-human abilities or anything. This is Left for Dead and I'm only accepting OCs that sound relatively normal. I need a name, apparel, preferred weapon, and a personality file (optional). I reserve the right to create a personality if none is given. Last but not least, I don't own Left for Dead but I do own my characters! No stealing! Enjoy the story folks!**

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"Hey Ash, are you sure that you know where you're going?" He asked her doubtfully. Ashley turned to give her best friend a nasty look. "Of course I know where I'm going! I'm the one who has the map!" She turned to face the map and the road again while he lowered his head to the ground and mumbled, "Doesn't mean you know how to read it." She quickly whipped her head back to him, giving him a menacing glare. "What was that?" He raised his head and said a bit louder, "I said that it's a good thing you can read it!" "Damn straight," she replied.

Ashley Williams and Connor O'Brien had been friends since the 6th grade, and with everyone that they knew &amp; loved dead &amp; gone all they had was each other. Despite being in the same grade, Connor was a year older than Ash. Even though he is extremely intelligent Connor had managed to flunk enough classes to be held back a year. Which was when he met Ash. They were friends but only ever talked during lunch and recess. The coming of the apocalypse changed that.

Now they wandered the lifeless regions of Oklahoma, searching for supplies in a desperate attempt to stay alive. There weren't many zombies around lately due to some drunk red-neck idiot in a pickup who was blasting and singing "Merica!" while firing a shotgun in the air. Most of the zombies heard that for a good mile or two and chased him off into the distance. Now it seemed to be deserted.

Ashley abruptly stopped walking and glanced around, occasionally glancing back to the map. "Hey, everything okay?" She turned to look at Connor and her eyes glanced over him quickly. His dark brown hair curled messily down his face and around his head, just reaching the neck. His deep green eyes shone brightly against his blood-red leather jacket. Under the jacket he wore his black T-shirt and black arrowhead necklace. He wore gray &amp; black fingerless baseball gloves and black combat boots. His black jeans were strapped with holsters for his two silenced mac-10s. His ammo belt was stocked full of ammunition and his AK-47 was slung tight across his back, he had found a silencer for that as well in a gun shop. He didn't like to attract attention.

Her eyes lifted up and locked with his bright green ones. She saw her own light gray eyes reflected in his perfect irises and held his gaze, entranced by those two perfect emerald circles. Then she realized that she had held his gaze for WAY too long! She abruptly averted her eyes and hoped that the absence of light did something to hide the rush of color to her face. He stooped down and brushed a stray strand of her long brown hair away from her face and studied her quizzically. "Oi, you alright?" He asked with his slight Irish accent. She shook her head and brushed away his hand and took a few steps back. "I-I'm fine, l-lets find a place to stay for tonight. Okay?" She said with a slight stutter. "Yeah, it is gettin' a bit dark and we really can't afford to waste ammo on a horde right now." They were in a small neighborhood a few miles from the highway but most of the houses looked ransacked already. It had only been a few weeks and people have already looted most of the area before moving on. Connor was thinking that that might be their best option. But first, they needed to sleep. He looked around and spotted a small one-story house further down the block that looked promising. "There," he pointed. She looked at the house and could barely get a word out before he grabbed her hand and began to walk towards the house. "H-hey!" she complained. "What? Something wrong?" he asked. "Uh, no. No, lets just get to the house." She said and walked with him until they stood on the front porch. She looked up and studied the house.

It was a white one-story house with a single red brick chimney. The garage to their left was attached to the house and was shut tight. Connor approached the front door and pulled out both of his mac-10s. He put his back to the wall and looked at Ash, nodding towards the door. She nodded back and pulled out her hunting rifle. She walked up to the door and tried the doorknob. It was open. She lightly pushed the door open and swung the tac-light on her gun around the room. There was one zombie who had its back turned to the door. When the light didn't phase it Ash walked up slowly and brought the butt of her rifle down on its neck, killing it with a _crack_. She heard the door quietly shut and felt Connor behind her, examining the house with the tac-lights on his mac-10's. The inside appeared to be a standard layout, like most other houses in this part of Oklahoma it had a main hallway that connected to the bedrooms and a bathroom or two. The left side of the house was where the kitchen, living room, and the door to the garage would be. They exchanged a look and nodded, they'd done this before. Ash cautiously walked down the right hallway to check the rooms while Connor went left to sweep &amp; clear the living room.

There were four doors connected to the hallway. Ash was about to enter the first bedroom but decided that a rifle wouldn't be too useful inside. She slung it across her back and pulled out her magnum. The recoil was killer on her arms and shoulders if she used it too much, but that's why it's a sidearm. The weight of the powerful handgun felt comforting in her hands, it gave her a sense of power like nothing could touch her as long as she had it to defend her. She pushed the door open and found a bedroom that had definitely belonged to a little girl. The walls were pink and the carpet was a beige color. Little stars dotted the ceiling and the walls were covered with hand-drawn pictures and posters of MLP. There was a large doll house in the corner next to a closet. She walked over to the closet and opened it. The clothes there seemed to belong to a 9 or 10 year old girl and was entirely too small for Ash. She closed the closet door and walked back into the hallway.

She walked to the next door and when she opened it she found two zombies standing in the middle of the room. Upon hearing her enter they turned and snarled at her, their dead gray eyes fixated on their new snack. Ash quickly brought the magnum to bear and aimed for their chests. She pulled the trigger and felt the gun shove back as it sent its deadly payload towards one of the zombies. The shot made a giant hole in the zombie's chest and blood burst from the wound. The other zombie ran towards her but fell back when she pistol-whipped it with the heavy barrel. She shot it's exposed back and looked around the room. This was a boy's room, probably a teenager's. She stepped over the bodies and inspected the room further, but then something caught her eye. She looked towards the far right wall and saw a katana in it's sheath hanging on the wall. There were assorted knifes and machetes hanging around it but many of them seemed to be fake. She took a good look at the katana and the knifes. The katana was real, so were the knifes but if she had to use a knife to kill a zombie she would have to be VERY desperate. She lifted the katana off of the wall and walked back into the hall with it. The next door was just a bathroom with cabinets of bandages, gauze, and some travel toothpaste.

She wandered over to the last door and opened it. Then she saw the motherload. Judging by the queen sized bed this was the parent's room and on the bed was a large pile of guns. I mean, you could defend Fort Knox with this! She looked around but didn't see any more zombies. This was awsome! But, who would have this many guns in the middle of a city? Or a better question, who would leave them? Before she could think of any answers she heard multiple gunshots coming from the garage, but that wasn't right. Connor's guns were silenced. Then she heard Connor shout in pain, which was followed by other shouts. But those didn't sound like zombies, they sounded like...

people.

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**Hey! Hopefully that wasn't too bad. I'm still working on my writing style and dialogue is tricky for me. If you have story or character ideas you can PM me or just say them in the reviews. Enjoy the rest of your day! (Or night.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey whats up? The sky? The clouds? A movie by Pixar? Not important. Anyway! Chapter numero dos is here and I apologize for how short it is but I hit a bit of writer's block and am trying to dig myself out of it. The amount of reviews that I get will determine if this series continues so if you like this and want to read more than please tell me. It's a huge confidence booster. OCs are still being accepted (I mean, I haven't even gotten any yet) and I might need one or two if I'm going to write this next chapter. Or I will make up more of my own characters. That's it! No more, I'll let you get to reading!**

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After entering the house with Ash up front and himself in the back they decided to split up. No words were needed they'd done this a hundred times. She took the hallway and bedrooms while he went to check the living room, kitchen, and garage. He held his mac-10s in his hands and walked into the living room first.

It was pretty standard. A couch, leather reclining chair, and rocking chair all facing a flat-screen TV. A computer in the corner for general family use. And a set of double doors that he guessed lead to the porch or the backyard. After taking in his surroundings he immediately noticed that something was wrong. His instincts told him that something wasn't right and that he should be careful. So he knelt down and began to stalk carefully through the room. He didn't see anything suspicious or helpful until he reached the computer. Every house that they had entered before had a good layer of dust on most every surface. Keyboards, the tops of shelves and tables, and on top of TVs were where they tended to gather. Or at least that was where it was most noticeable. He saw the keyboard and noticed that there was no dust on it. Someone or something had touched it, and recently. _The hell?_ _Are there other people around here? I thought we were the only ones around for miles. After I check the kitchen and the garage I'll show this to Ash, then we'll decide what to do next._

He turned away from the keyboard and faced the door leading into the kitchen. He stalked up and silently pushed it open. Upon entering the kitchen the first thing he thought was, _Oh damn, we just made a HUGE mistake._ On the table he found piles of ammunition and medical supplies, enough to last a couple for weeks! No, months! And judging by the food on the counters there were still people living in here. They should've avoided this house. Walking into someone's safehouse these days was like wandering onto Old Man Jenkins' farm. Old Man Jenkins was known for shooting at people if they were on his property. He shot to kill but was so old he couldn't see very well, so he always missed. Scary as hell though. Now there had to be at least four people in this house, judging by the four separate coats hanging on the backs of some chairs at the table. He hoped that they were gone on a supply trip or something so there wouldn't be any...miscommunication. He saw another door and this one looked like it lead to the garage. He was just about go over to it when he heard two very loud shots from the hallway.

_Ash!_ He thought. Then he heard voices coming from the other side of the garage door. _Oh shit!_

The door was flung open and three men stood in the doorway, staring at him in surprise. One was wearing a black hoodie and was holding an Uzi. The one on the other side was wearing a skull cap and was holding a Scar. The last one wasn't wearing a shirt and held a military rifle. Connor lifted his mac-10s but the one with the Scar was faster. Skull-Cap fired off three quick shots, one of which hit his right mac-10 and sent it skittering across the floor and another hit him in the side. Connor clutched his side and bit back a scream of pain. He didn't want them to know that Ash was here with him. Connor lifted his one remaining mac-10 and fired several shots at them as he walked back towards the living room, still holding his side. Shirtless had several spasms as his body caught the shots, blood spurting out of his chest in multiple areas. Skull-Cap and Hoodie dove back into the garage, but not before Hoodie got off a few shots, some of which grazed Connor's thighs and one hit his lower right arm. This time Connor couldn't help but call out in pain and knew that Ash would be coming soon. He quickly backed up into the living room and got behind a wall, where he slid down to a sit and hoped that these guys didn't decide to shoot through the walls. "Connor!" He heard Ashley yell as she appeared from the hallway, magnum in hand. Upon seeing him her gray eyes widened and her mouth hung open in shock. She quickly regained her resolve and went to him, kneeling to be on eye-level with him.

"Are you alright? What happened?" She asked with concern. "It's nothing I can't handle, but there are two guys in the garage, one with a Scar and another with an Uzi. There was a third but I took care of him," he explained. Ash peeked around the corner and then looked back at him. "The doors still shut. They must be planning something. We should move to better positions while we have the chance," she said quickly. "Good idea, help me up will ya? Ugh, I'm having a bit of trouble with my legs," he said with a groan. She grabbed his arm and pulled him up. She threw an arm around his shoulder and helped him into the kitchen. She set him down near the refrigerator and then went to take up position on the far back wall of the living room, facing the door. He looked over at her and saw that she had transitioned to her hunting rifle, laying prone and keeping watch on the door. _Ah, I get it, _he thought. He clutched his mac-10 in both hands and waited for her shot.

After what felt like forever, the garage door suddenly flew open and bullets sprayed out of the opening. He listened for a specific sound and heard the sharp _CRACK _of a hunting rifle, followed by a surprised _oomph. _He quickly turned around towards the door and let loose a volley of shots. Skull-Cap was the one that was unfortunate enough to have his upper chest and face ripped apart by the close-quarter shots. Connor let go the breathe that he hadn't realized he had been holding and looked over to Ash. She was propped up on her elbow now and looked towards him to see if he was okay. Satisfied that they were both still alive, Ash got up and went to help her partner.

She helped Connor up and he leaned on the refrigerator, breathing heavily. She looked him over with a worried eye and saw multiple grazes and a gun shot wound in his side. She looked at his back and winced. There was no exit wound.

The bullet was still inside his body.

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**Again, sorry for the short chapter. Maybe if I get enough inspiration and confidence then the next one will be longer, but hey, I need characters to continue. So with that I bid you good day and good night. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 is here at last! Finals are coming up so it's hard to find time to write my stories. Nevertheless! Here you go! Enjoy!**

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Connor groaned as he sat down on the couch, his blood starting to stain the cushions. Ash tore off parts of her shirt into strips, revealing her stomach. She tied the strips tightly around the deeper grazes and pushed a wad of cloth against the boy's torso wound. He was already pale with blood loss and looked to be on the verge of passing out. She whipped around and ran back to the medical supplies that she saw on the kitchen table. She grabbed a medic pack and dashed back over to Connor, already zipping open the bag and dumping its contents onto the floor. She scrambled through the supplies until she found a gauze pad and tape. She grabbed the medical items and replaced the already soaking wad of cloth with the gauze pad, using the tape to keep it in place. She started to panic, that was all she knew! She wasn't a freaking surgeon! Even if the bleeding stopped how in the hell would she get the damn bullet out? She had no idea how deep it was! She heard a pained groan, but it didn't come from Connor this time.

She turned around and mentally slapped herself for leaving her gun behind her in the kitchen. She turned around slowly and her eyes widened as she saw the young man she had shot with her rifle, clutching his side with one eye closed, a pained grimace shown plain on his face. He weakly lifted his arm and aimed the Uzi at her. The gun shook in his hand, it was too heavy for one arm alone. When he fired the Uzi, the bullets will arc everywhere, they'll probably kill both her and Connor without much trouble. Her magnum was in its holster at her side but her hand was nowhere close to it, she'd be dead before she even touched the handle. The world around her seemed to slow as she stared wide-eyed at the 20 year old with the black hood. He looked back at her and let out a gasping breath before breathing in deep and stiffened his arm, trying to improve his aim. What happened next neither of them expected.

The hooded man's head rolled off his shoulders and tumbled onto the floor with a solid _thunk_. Blood spurted from the remains of his neck as his body fell to the floor, the Uzi tumbling from his hand. Standing behind the dead body was another man, one she hadn't seen before now. In his hands he clutched a katana, blood dripping from the tip onto the beige carpet. He was wearing a black long sleeve sports shirt and ripped blue jeans. On his shoulders and arms were plates of armor that looked to have been made from scrap metal. Similar armor plates adorned his chest and presumably his back as well. His face was hidden by a black ski mask and dark sunglasses. A white and black camo hood was pulled up over his head, casting his mask in shadow. His boots were adorned with metal similar to his torso armor and he had metal plates on his thighs as well.

The knight (that was the first name that came to mind for her) looked up at her and then at Connor, who was bleeding through his bandages. The knight sheathed his sword and pulled down his mask so it hung around his neck. He put his fingers to his lips and whistled back towards the garage. There was the sound of footsteps as another man came through to stand next the knight. This man wore an old, tattered U.S. Army uniform. He looked to be in his late 40s, early 50s. His short brown hair matched his brown eyes. His hair was graying on the sides and was cut in standard military fashion, slightly buzzed on the sides and longer on top. He had an assault rifle on his back and a pistol in a thigh holster. The man saw them and his eyes widened. He quickly pulled out a green canvas medic kit and made their way towards them.

Ash was hesitant about letting him near but it was obvious that these men only wanted to help them, so she moved aside and let the man get to work. He removed Connor's bandages, studied the wound, and then got to work.

Ash saw him pull out a long pair of pliers and realized that he was just going to wing it and go for the bullet. She knew this wouldn't end well, if he didn't do this right then Connor was dead for sure. She understood though that if he didn't get the bullet out now then he wouldn't get a better chance later. Ash turned away and stiffened when Connor began screaming.

"Calm down son! I need to get this out! I know it hurts but you just gotta man up and take it! Girl! I need your help! Get over here!" The old man shouted at her. She flinched and went to kneel at Connor's side, averting her eyes from the wound.

"Alright, now I need you to hold him down, keep him still. Got me? If you don't this'll get ugly fast."

She nodded and put her arms on Connor's shoulders, applying pressure to keep him still. After what felt like hours but was in fact only seconds, the old man had the bullet. Connor had passed out from the pain so Ash let go of him and stood back as the old man started to dress the wound.

Ash turned around and faced the knight, who had begun to remove his mask and goggles. Without the hood, goggles, and ski mask, she could easily see his face. He had dark gray eyes and combed back dark brown hair. He appeared to be in his early 20s and his facial expression said that he honestly couldn't care less if it was just him and the old man who walked out of here alive.

_But, _Ash thought, _if that's really what he thinks, why would he save me in the first place?_

The knight looked at her and studied her closely. She shifted nervously under his steady gaze.

"Anyone else around here?" He asked. His voice was low and dark. It made her shiver, but not in an entirely unpleasant way.

"N-no. There isn't anyone else here. Its just us."

"Hm, alright," he said. He looked down the hallway and began to walk down it, surveying each room. She returned her gaze to the old man, who had just finished with Connor. Connor looked even paler than before, and he was still as a statue.

Her breathe hitched and she herself paled. _N-no, how can he be...he can't be...it wasn't THAT much bl..._

Connor's chest suddenly rose and fell, Ashley let out a sigh of relief and mentally slapped herself for assuming the worst. _He can't die yet, I won't _let _him. _The old man looked up at her smiled wearily. "Why hello there. I don't believe we've officially met yet," he held out his blood-soaked hand but, upon realizing the state his hand was in, quickly retracted it. He met her gaze and said, "So, my name's Benjamin. Benjamin Marron. You can just call me Ben though. The gruff knight in not-so-shining armor is Dresden. I don't know his last name but I do know that he's a good fighter, which is a good skill to have these days. Now then, what's your name young lady?"

"Uh, my name's Ashley. And the guy you just saved is Connor. Thanks for that by the way." She studied Ben for a moment and then asked, "If you don't mind my asking, but were you in the army at some point? Like, a medic or something?"

Ben laughed and said, "Or something? Ashley I was THE medic! I was the combat medic that was thrown onto the front lines to keep people from bleeding out before they took a few of the Vietcong down with 'em! And I was damn good too." His smile faded and he looked over her shoulder at something that only he could see. "There's just as much blood here in the states now as there was in Nam." He shook his head and smiled at her again. "Gah, if I go and start to ramble on about what happened over there then please feel free to slap me out of it."

"You'd better do it too, the old man rambles like there's no tomorrow," said a deep voice. She turned around to see Dresden behind her, and he was holding the katana that she'd found. She noticed that several of the smaller knives that were on the wall of the boy's room were tucked into his boots, belt, and various other places on his body. He looked around and said, "This is a good hold out position. We'll camp out here for the night and then move out in the morning."

Ben frowned and looked at Connor. "I don't think this boy will be ready to move by tomorrow. Is there food stored anywhere?"

Dresden nodded. "Yeah, in the kitchen pantry. Plenty of canned foods and some chips and granola bars that look to be on the verge of expiring."

Ben looked at Dresden and told him that they needed to wait until Connor was better. Dresden told him that these two kids weren't their responsibility and that they should leave tomorrow, with or without them. As the two argued with each other Ash went over to Connor and studied his face. While still pale, some color had returned to his face. She didn't know much about medicine but he looked to be improving pretty quickly. She cupped his cheek with her hand and felt his clammy and sweating skin against hers. She stared intently at him and put her forehead to his. "Come on Connor, I still need you. You need to keep your promise to me." She whispered. Neither of the bickering men heard her, nor did they hear the last three words that she whispered to the recovering boy, who had just started to open his eyes.

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**And there it is folks. Hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please let me know in the reviews! Even one inspires me to write more!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the lack of uploads lately. Summer homework and a new job have been keeping me occupied. Also my folks are real pains sometimes. Anyway, chapter 4. Enjoy guys! Also, thanks to KillerWoW and ruffntuffshorty for being the first to review my story! KillerWoW I will use your OC in this story but I can't quite say when. **

**A/N I have updated the chapter because I thought of something that would make it a little more impactful. Just a heads up for those few who have already read it.**

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_Ugh, where, am I? Why is it so dark? It should be the middle of summer so, why do I feel so cold? Am I in water? Is this what it's like to drown? But, where would I be drowning from? Ash and I weren't near any lakes were we? Ash. ASH! Where's Ash? I have to find her, I-I need to wake up! Am I even asleep? Oh please let this be a dream, I can't lose her yet! We have so far to go! Come on Connor, come on! Wake up!_

Connor fluttered his eyes open, slowly at first. He began to hear noise. Voices maybe. Not ones he recognized. Then he heard a very familiar, very soothing voice whisper in his ear. It was muffled and he couldn't hear it quite right, but he thought he caught a bit of it. '_I'...uh...something...was that 'you'? _

He became aware of a dull ache all over his body, but there was a warm sensation down on his torso. It...it felt...like a spike was being driven into his gut!

Connor's eyes flashed open and he shot up with a loud gasp. He clutched his side in a desperate attempt to do something to the pain but the action only made it flare up again. Spots swam over his vision as he cried out in pain and fell back down onto the cushions. The pain continued until he felt a slight jab in his arm. Then suddenly his whole body went slack, the pain and exhaustion numbed out of existence. His eyes started to focus when a light flashed into his eyes. His eyes took their sweet time adjusting to the sudden light. But the one thing that came into focus first was directly in his face, mere inches from his nose. The concerned, worried face of a beautiful girl with gray eyes and long brown looked deep into those gray pools and whispered groggily,

"I must be dead because angels don't visit Oklahoma. California sure, but not Oklahoma."

The girl's cheeks reddened and quickly pulled back from his face, once again leaving everything out of focus. His eyes tried to refocus desperately, just to get another glimpse at the angel. Instead he found the gaze of a pair of dark brown eyes, withered with age and experience. In those eyes were reflected so many horrible experiences and memories that one just knew that those eyes had just about seen it all.

"Oh," Connor said en monotone.

"Well, unless those are the eyes of God then I really am still on Earth because if angels don't visit Oklahoma then God must avoid it with a fiery passion," he said. The old face smiled and he felt a light pat on his head.

"Lean back, son," the old man said. The room began to swim into focus as Connor began to wake up more fully. He saw that he was laying on the couch in the living room of the house he and Ash had been searching. Then, in an instant, it all came back to him. The fight, getting shot, and then passing out. He looked up at the people before him. He saw the old man, wearing an old U.S. Army uniform with a military style haircut with a bit of graying on the sides. Behind him, just over his right shoulder was a man wearing armor that looked to be made from scrap metal and twine. Not the best armor by anyone's standards but it must have served its purpose because there were scratches and dents all over it.

Finally the girl that he had, in his pain dulled state, called an angel. Ashley. Damn.

The girl was standing just behind the armored dude, holding her right arm with her left, head angled to the floor, and was tapping the front of her toe against the carpet nervously. He tried to lift himself up a bit, not enough to reawaken the pain, but enough to make him a bit more comfortable on the rough couch.

"Would someone mind filling me in? Like, who are you guys? How long have I been out? Is there any food around here because I'm starved!"

The armored guy sighed and shook his head.

"Great, all that effort for a goddamn comedian. See old man? This is why I don't let you lead point. Because you always get me into situations like this." He said, jabbing a finger at Connor.

"You got a problem with me mate? I'll go all Scottish...unicorn...justice...on yer face," Connor said, still somewhat affected by the drug the old man had administered.

"Connor, you're Irish." Said Ashley.

"Wah? Oh, yeah. I'll go all Irish lepricon potluck on ya!" He said, waggling his fist at the now very annoyed man.

"You see," he said to the old man, "you see why I avoid people? One jab of morphine, which I was saving by the way, and he acts like a drunk Irishman!"

"Ai! Who ya callin' a drunk?"

"Ah, ignore him kid. He's just whining because he didn't get his way, as usual." The old man said.

"Now, how about some proper introductions? I'm Ben. The whiny baby over there is Dresden, and I think you know Ashley."

"I think I know her better than she knows herself," Connor said with a smirk. She blushed and looked away.

"I-I should go get you some food...or...something..." She stuttered as she walked quickly out of the room. Dresden's eyes followed her as she walked out of the room, watching the slight sway of her hips and her slender legs, and the area where those two parts met. Connor noticed this and frowned. He looked around for something to throw at him but found nothing. He'd deal with that later, when he was a bit stronger.

"Now my boy I just gave you some morphine so you will be through hell for the next few days after the effects wear off," said Ben. Connor nodded and lay his head back on the cushions of the sofa. It was gonna be a long week.

Over the course of the next week Connor was in extreme pain whenever he moved his side and he ached all over. But on the upside he was recovering rather quickly. The food storage was holding up nicely and Dresden found a tankard of clean water stored in the basement. Ashley was by his side the whole time, getting him water and food when he asked for it. But even as Connor started to get better he asked for her to stay closer and closer to him. She began to suspect that he had reasons other than just needing her for help. And she was right, but not for the reasons that she hoped. In truth Connor wanted her to stay close so that he could keep an eye on her while Dresden was around. He didn't trust that guy. Ben busied himself most days tending to Connor's wounds and pouring over maps and old newspapers to plot out the best course of action once they were mobile again. Dresden often went out on his own to gather supplies and secure the perimeter, keeping any zombies away from their temporary base. One day he came back with a backpack of food, ammo, and other general supplies. When asked where he got them all he gave in return was silence. Nobody asked him again.

By the end of the week Connor was able to stand with minimal pain but needed Ashley's help. As a general exercise to help him get his body adjusted to movement again Ben had Ashley give Connor a tour of the house, since he had only seen the living room and kitchen. First she took him through the kitchen and into the garage. There she pointed out everything of value, which was mostly just a pickup truck and several jerry cans of gasoline. They were lucky that they hadn't hit those when fighting the previous occupants. After a tour of the garage she took him to the hallway and the rooms connected with them. There wasn't much special about them. Dresden had claimed the biggest room, the one with the guns in it. That left the little girl's room for Ashley and the teenage boy's room for Ben. The bed was a little small for Ashley but she said she managed.

"It's better than sleeping on the couch," she said.

"Oh I bet it is. But tell me, now that I can move around where am I going to sleep? I'm pretty tired of the couch." Connor said. He looked at her and smirked.

"Mind if I join you tonight? As you said, it's better than the couch."

She blushed deeply and lightly slapped the back of his head, emitting a small laugh from him. The images that came to her head when he said that were embarrassing and she didn't want to continue that line of thought, or she might consider taking him up on it. Even if it was a joke.

She took him to Ben's room and that's where Connor had a heyday. He took his arm off of her shoulders and limped through the room, using his hands to support him on walls, bedframes, and anything else that was in reach. He went over to a desk in the corner that had a lamp overlooking various maps and newspapers. He looked at Ben's work and saw several red lines connecting marked points on the map. Near each line was what looked like an estimation of how long it would take them to reach each location from their current position or from an adjoining location. Being familiar with the area he saw that most of them were convience stores, restraunts, and gas stations but there were two that stood out to him. These two places had big red stars drawn over them and were on opposite sides of the city.

One led north, northeast out of the city. The red line that connected it to where they were now was so long that it led out of the map and onto another map of a different region of Oklahoma. It kept going until it reached what looked like a cattle ranch. The ranch looked to be about an hour, hour and a half from the house.

The other red line went down southeast a bit. It was just outside of the city and seemed to be a rather straight shot. This option was by far the closest because the estimation was just 15-30 minutes. Connor knew this location very well. It was were he had first entered the U.S. The airport.

Connor scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. Ben must be debating on whether to go to the ranch or the airport. He would have to talk with Ben later on the matter. He opened a drawer under the desk and rifled through the miscellaneous junk and clutter in it until he found what looked like a journal of some kind. He brought it out and read the name on it.

_MARCUS DUBAI_

"Hey what's that?" Ashley asked curiously, walking over to him and putting her arms around his neck. She peeked over his shoulder and read the name and frowned.

"Do you think this belonged to the teen who owned this room?" She asked.

"Don't know lass, want to find out?" He asked, a small grin on his face. She smiled and nodded, unwrapping her arms from his neck and grabbing the journal from him. She took his hand and led him over to the bed. They sat down, Ashley visibly excited to get started. Ashley was a heavy reader so new reading material of any kind was exciting for her, especially these days.

"Alright, lets get started," Connor said. He opened the journal and started on the first page.

* * *

_March 13th, 2009_

_So Daniel got me this epic journal for me today. Seems pretty awesome since it's my 18th birthday. Heh, eighteen. You know people always think that I am older than I really am. Maybe its because I'm already growing facial hair. Or maybe its my height. I don't know. Either way, it was the best gift that I got today, well, maybe not THE best. Jade gave me a little birthday kiss behind the house when everyone was eating inside. Not just on the cheek either, right on the mouth! Her lips were like, gah I don't even know how to explain it. So soft. Then she gave me a look promising more on my birthdays to come. I've never wanted to get to my next birthday so badly! Well, I think this is the last that I'll write today. See ya tomorrow._

_March 21st, 2009_

_Hey, it's been awhile. I haven't written in this for a few weeks now. Mostly because so much has been happening. New teachers giving more homework than usual, Jade wanting me to spend more time with her (which I don't mind), and Daniel, Daniel seems distracted lately. Like he's been planning something. I don't yet get what, but I guess he'll tell me when he's ready. He always does. That's what I like about Daniel. He trusts me. And I him. People make fun of our "bromance" but since we (the easedroppers that we are) know everybody else's crushes we have them all by the balls! Eat it freaks! Daniel and Mark in the house! I guess today I just had to do something different. Something new. I found this on my nightstand so I moved it over to the desk and I think I'll be writing in this a bit more now. _

_March 31st, 2009_

_Holy crap! Daniel just told me! He got us tickets to Coldplay! In two weeks! I am so excited! He has been working extra hard to get the cash for the tickets since his folks are too cheap to pitch in. I told my parents an dthey don't want me to go. But screw that. Daniel worked his butt off to get those tickets. I am NOT letting that go to waste. To hell with them and their opinions, I AM going. I'll sneak out if I have to. _

_April 15th, 2009_

_We are doing it. Tonight. We are going to sneak out and go to the concert. We spent the last few weeks planning how to escape our prisons (houses) and get to the theatre. We figured both our parents went to sleep around 10 or 11 o'clock every night. So, once they go to sleep we will exit via windows and use our bikes which will have been relocated to under our windows to meet in the park in front of the big hospital. When we are both there we will retrieve the duffel bag we stashed in a nearby tree and ride to the theatre. When we get there we will bypass security using rope and grappling hooks taken from Daniel's cliff-climbing buddies. We will use the fire escape of a nearby apartment and use our great baseball arms to send the hooks over to a tree between the building and the theatre. Once we get to the tree we will use a thick branch that gets really close to a window and enter through there. Daniel was a bit peeved that we wouldn't use the tickets he bought but we wouldn't be able to enter without our folks anyway. We gave the tickets to Jade and her dad so they could go legitly. Anyway after that we will..._

_April 16th, 2009_

_Sorry for ending that last entry so abruptly, I heard my folks moving around and panicked. I bolted and made for the park. From there it all went according to plan. We ended up sitting up in the roof supports in a dark corner. Coldplay was AWESOME. We didn't mind the dust much. Although the guys below us had it pretty bad whenever we moved around. We almost got caught when they looked up but the supports are so thick they couldn't see us if we stood up. So we leaned against the supports and watched the concert. It was the best night ever. I didn't even care about the blasting I got from my parents when I got back in the morning. This life is awesome._

_May 3rd, 2009_

_Oh hell, its here. It's really freaking here! The apocalypse man! Zombies are taking over the country! Daniel called and said he was beelining it for my place. His coward of a mother wasted a bullet shooting her own brains out before even attempting to escape. His dad was distraught and threw Daniel out of the house. My folks were stupid enough to try to use the highway to get to the airport. I stayed behind. Jade is coming over too. I called Ike and told the shirtless bastard to meet us here. He said sure, zombies already got his family but with how abusive they were to him he didn't mind one bit. We will wait for everything to calm down then we will look for supplies._

_May 20th, 2009_

_We are going on a risky supply run today, a big grocery store about a mile away. I's farther then anywhere we have walked before. But maybe it still has food in it. I told Ike to lock all the doors but he forgets alot. I hope zombies don't wander in again. None of us want to deal with that again. But there haven't been many around since we heard those shotgun blasts. _

_May 21st, 2009_

_Jade is dead. We got to the grocery store and found loads of food. And zombies. Once we turned on the power and the lights switched on we heard them. The largest horde we had ever seen. Must have been all the people scrambling for food before evacuating. We burned through all our ammo and still didn't have enough to finish them off. Jade went back for a truck she saw that had gas tanks in the back. I told her not to but she didn't hear me. It was so...chaotic. Ike and Daniel kept running but Jade was going the opposite direction, thinking we were right behind her. Jade still had some ammo left so she blasted a few zombies off of the truck before leaping into the back for the gas cans. She tried to gas it up before driving it because it could've been dry. Then they just, overran her. I could do nothing but watch as the girl I love was torn apart, her cries only interrupted by a few gunshots, and the screaming horde around her. I guess a bullet hit one of the cans because the truck blew up. That's all. I got nothing else to say. _

_May 22nd, 2009_

_We are going on another supply run. despite what happened yesterday we need to stock up on what we can. We are going to use the garage door to enter and leave this time. Daniel says that way we can get a jump on someone if they enter the house. I said that's bullcrap but whatever. I just hope it all goes our way today. I can't lose anyone else._

* * *

The rest of the pages in the journal were blank. Both Connor and Ashley sat in silence. Ashley flipped through the pages and a photo fell out. Connor picked it up so Ash could see it too.

It was a picture of a tall young man that seemed to be eighteen or nineteen years old. He was wearing a grey tank top and dark green cargo pants. He had a skullcap on his head despite it being what looked like spring or summer. He was smiling and had an arm around another boy his age who wore a black hoodie. The skullcap kid was holding up two fingers in the 'peace' sign. Strips of paper were taped on top of the boys' chests with names on them. On the skullcapped boy had the name _DANIEL_ and _MARCUS_ was on the other. Ashley gasped and almost dropped the journal when she saw the picture. A quick series of images popped into her mind.

A young man wearing a hoodie in her scope, with blood spurting out of his torso as her bullet tore away at his flesh and sent him toppling back through the doorway into the garage. Another boy next to him wearing a skullcap being ripped apart by Connor's mac-10. And another of the boy in the hoodie holding an Uzi as his head fell from his shoulders with a mixed expression of pain, confusion, and sadness, tears falling down his face.

Ashley came back to reality to find the she was leaning against Connor with a hand over her mouth as tears fell from her eyes. Connor put a comforting arm around her shoulders and just held her for awhile.

"I-I-I t-t-tried to f-f-forget about them. About how I, k-k-killed him! H-how W-WE killed them!" She stammered out.

"You didn't kill anyone Ash, " he turned her to look her in the eye.

"Dresden killed Marcus. You can't blame yourself. I have to live with this, Daniel's, death for the rest of my life. But you don't need to carry that burden. There's enough for you to worry about without you taking that on your shoulders, aye?" He said comfortingly, continuing to look her in the eye. She tried to stop the flow of tears but they just came pouring back out. Connor pulled her to him, letting her cry into his shoulder, despite the pain it caused him. They sat like that for a little while, even after Ashley was fresh out of tears she continued to cry into her best friend's shoulder. Connor knew it wasn't just the boys she was crying about, but for everything. Everything that had happened to them since they saw their first infected. The loss of their friends, family, and homes. Everything that they cared about was gone. So he let her cry. He let her cry for the loved ones that left them behind, and for their being stuck on this dying world.

* * *

**A/N **

**Hey guys! So in case you didn't notice it already, there are two paths available for our group of survivors, risk the plane and escape the state &amp; possibly the country or make the longer and possibly more dangerous drive to reach a fairly large ranch that might have abundant stores of food, supplies, and maybe even livestock. Give me your opinions in the reviews! Where should they go?**


End file.
